


The First Time

by potatoship



Category: Naruto
Genre: Drama, F/M, Future Fic, Happy Ending, Heartache, M/M, Multi, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-02-06
Updated: 2013-07-27
Packaged: 2017-11-28 09:08:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/672689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/potatoship/pseuds/potatoship
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An eerily quiet Sasuke returns to Konoha, and Naruto is put in charge of his rehabilitation, leaving his pursuit of Sakura and much of his personal life behind. What is going on in the Uchiha’s mind? Another plot for revenge, or a man lost in time and space? As Naruto cracks beneath the surface he finds more than just a tormented soul; he finds a man.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

~O – O – O – O – O~

**Chapter One: Return**

~O – O – O – O – O~

“Ne, ne,” A boisterous voice broke the silence of the Hokage’s office, in complete disregard of what ordinary folk would have called societal norms “What do you mean ‘Caretaker,’ Baa-chan?”

The same as always, that boy. She really ought to call him a man, but it became so difficult when he acted like this. Pestering her for _hours_ about this secret mission she had disclosed to him a week ago, why he ought not to tell anyone, what it would involve. She shouldn’t have told him after all.

“It means you’re going to watch him so he doesn’t almost destroy Konoha again,” Tsunade faced the window in her office, a room still in shambles overlooking an equally destroyed village after the extensive damage of a people at war. She couldn’t hide that she worried over the blonde, but in this case it was for the best. Her gut and heart told her that there would be no better person for this mission “Starting today.”

Naruto looked down to the musty ground, deep in thought as images passed through his head. After his capture, Naruto had sneaked through to see Sasuke despite everyone’s insistence against it. It had been weeks of solitary confinement – what if their so-called “treatment” had really driven Sasuke insane?

Well, more insane than he already was.

He just remembered walking down that dark corridor lit only by flickering torches, to be met with those desperate red eyes. The man had just been captured and had been physically struggling against the chains for hours. As if to insult him further, he clothes remained tattered and his body covered in blood and filth. Some sort of seal had been put over the cuffs, and the guards had to come and change it every so often.

Naruto had walked in during one of these changing periods, seeing Sasuke fall to the ground like an animal as the ANBU tranquilized him for the sixth time that day. Those eyes faded into the darkness, and a tear had slid down Naruto’s cheek in silence.

A pang struck in his heart, remembering another day; the day they captured Sasuke. He appeared a wild animal even then, lost and frantic. While the rest feared him, as his bloody arms were clasped into chains, Naruto couldn’t help but smile.

“I’ll do it, dattebayo!”

“I didn’t give you a choice, baka,” Tsunade flitted around with papers absentmindedly, sounding tougher than she felt inside “Are you ready or what?”

“Hai,” He gave a solemn bow and a secret smile to her, and she smiled back. Tsunade gathered up a stack of papers to stamp. She called Shizune to have the ANBU guards bring Sasuke in. Naruto took a deep breath. He felt the sweat between his fingers as he clenched his fists in anticipation. Immediately his senses became acutely aware and he stood a little straighter, his heart beating faster with every creaking step down the hall.

Tsunade noticed these immediate changes. She crossed her arms, letting a sly smile crawl onto her face.

“Tsunade-sama,” Shizune’s distracted voice echoed across the room, which seemed to become just a little larger with the silence. Following close behind were a few masked ANBU, Hatake Kakashi, and in their midst a somber-looking man that sent anticipation through Naruto’s entire being.

“Sasuke,” He could barely manage. Sasuke seemed not to notice his obvious internal trauma. Every inch of Sasuke’s body had been scrubbed clean of the blood and gore that had covered him in the midst of battle and his subsequent imprisonment. They had fitted him with a white tunic and plain black pants, but the aura of death still surrounded him. It cloaked him, flowed off of him, and had all but engulfed him.

“Seventy-two more hours in that cast, Sasuke,” An impatient Tsunade broke the silence, wanting to remove Naruto from his destructive rumination and also get back to her paperwork. She gestured to Sasuke’s arms, which were locked tightly behind his back with a new complicated seal Kakashi had placed on him. His shoulders slumped and his head hung low, but in a sentiment that seemed the opposite of shame “Your final judge will be Naruto.”

At the blonde’s name Sasuke’s head snapped up, his eyes flashing red. Naruto seemed, for the first time in ages, truly nervous. He seemed acutely aware of Sasuke’s mental instability, his vulnerability. That life, suddenly dropped into his hands.

His trembling hands, which were currently sweating profusely.

“Be gentle, Naruto,” Kakashi seemed to read Naruto’s mind. Sasuke flinched, struggling against the arm guards, and Kakashi continued to hum happily. Naruto’s eyes flicked between the two. After a couple moments Sasuke’s rage subsided and his eyes faded to their almost-black darkness.

Another deep breath brought him to the present. All of these years, all of this training and journey to be spent in the search. That had to mean something, right? With all of the courage he could muster, he looked into the eyes of the man who tried to murder him countless times, the man who had twisted himself against his very people. That man… who was his friend a long time ago.

Those empty eyes, so filled with death and destruction, seemed to hold him only in anger at first. A tremendous anger, so tremendous that for a moment Naruto felt guilt – but something much deeper in them held a desperation.

A great confusion had fallen over those eyes; Sasuke didn’t quite know how to look at Naruto. Enemy or friend – suspicion or curiosity? About an eternity passed before Naruto managed to crack a smile. He almost cried. He remembered that look. It was Sasuke after all, very deep down there. The search wasn’t yet over – Sasuke at last physically appeared, but now was a different challenge. He had to find Sasuke…in this body somewhere he was hiding, perhaps trapped.

“Sasuke-san, you are doing much better in health,” Shizune nodded with a smile, wanting to comfort the situation somehow “Maybe even well enough for Ichiraku, ne?”

The man continued to stare at Naruto, flexing against the guards on his arms like a lion on a leash. The blonde watched his muscles ripple against a small knotted scar on his arm, and realized he had been the one to give such a mark to the arm. It seemed so very long ago.

 “Ramen sounds nice,” Naruto stated emptily, wanting to be rid of his current feelings. He felt so frustrated looking into those cold eyes, hearing that cold voice. It made him itch “If you don’t mind I’d like to go right now.”

“If you don’t mind,” Tsunade teased, acting as if she were unaware of Naruto’s discomfort “We can set Sasuke up with you in your apartment first.”

Naruto stiffened. No one told him he would have Sasuke in his _home_. It only seemed appropriate, but perhaps this would be more challenging than he imagined. He nodded, and the ANBU followed him out the doors towards his home. As they traveled, the thoughts and questions began to bubble up within Naruto. What was Sasuke’s purpose now that he was no longer an avenger? Would he prefer to live alone or with company? Would Sasuke be…safe? He shook his head, telling himself that this Sasuke was a different man. At least for right now.

One of the ANBU coughed loudly as they entered the apartment. _So much for stealthy_ , Naruto chuckled.

“Ano, I had burnt some instant ramen last night, sorry about the smell,” Naruto pushed aside piles of laundry and trash to the side. He hadn’t cleaned in awhile either, he realized as he bowed silently to the ANBU. And before he had a moment to let his mind settle, the masked men had vanished.

He stood in his apartment, facing the man he had been searching so diligently for, for so many years. He saw the boy he knew as a child. He saw the rival who drove him to greatness. He saw the unachievable power he longed to compete with. He saw his friend, and he saw someone who had for a short time become a monster.

 “Your place is a dump,” Sasuke stated before Naruto could even comprehend the complexity of the situation. He pushed a bunch of papers aside with his foot and sat on a chair in the kitchen area, seemingly complacent despite the vicious arm guards.

“Teme…” All past and present forgotten, Naruto felt a special kind of rage build up within him “This is my house!”

“I’ll probably die like this,” He muttered quietly, propping his right foot on a cardboard box filled with what else but instant ramen cups “Just breathing in your filth.”

The two bickered like this for a couple minutes. It was like they were twelve years old again. No massacre, no Itachi, no Akatsuki, nothing. It almost wasn’t real. Naruto’s eyes wandered to the scar on Sasuke’s arm. The realization came to Naruto suddenly. They hadn’t looked into each other’s eyes once. Just as suddenly he wanted it all to stop.

“Then why don’t you clean it up yourself?” Sasuke growled, staring into the ground as if melting it

“I…I don’t want to,” Naruto said, but he didn’t mean the cleaning. Sasuke glanced half in suspicion and half in concealed curiosity. He meant this… awful feeling.

Sasuke’s head rose to meet the other man’s. In an instant the coldness returned, and Naruto swallowed as it hit him like an ice storm. _It’s a reflex_ , Naruto told himself silently. _It has to be_.

He had to persist through this strangeness, and resist conflict. He had to prevent Sasuke from getting riled up, lest he endanger Konoha once more. He had to, if he really wanted to cure Sasuke of this…this _mental sickness._

_Yes_. That’s what it was, really. Sasuke has fallen ill, deeply ill. Naruto repeated to himself, over and over in his heart, that this sickness wasn’t incurable. He took a deep breath and Sasuke answered with silence. He stared, and the stare seemed menacing despite Sasuke’s attempt at neutrality.

“Sasuke,” Naruto spoke clearly and soundly, unafraid. The room echoed – he hated this. Home wasn’t supposed to be a scary place “I see your eyes.”

Those eyes narrowed in suspicion. Naruto smiled, sickeningly sad.

“I want to make them better again.”

Itachi’s eye had been an important tool, but the damage Sasuke’s eyes had sustained in battle had been tremendous in comparison. He would never attain that kind of power, and for the better in the opinions of most. But Sasuke understood this wasn’t a literal goal. His mind calculated.

“What’s wrong with them.” He didn’t question. This was a statement. Naruto saw a flash of red for just a moment.

“They were once the same as mine,” Naruto stubbornly replied, pissed that Sasuke had the audacity to challenge him like that. He set his jaw, standing before the other man with a renewed confidence. He wanted to see those eyes like they were back then. He sensed Sasuke’s resistance “I want you to trust me.”

Sasuke growled again, but it wasn’t backed by a threat. He didn’t have the power for threats. He couldn’t attack, even with his ocular jutsu; he sensed ANBU (albeit faintly) all around them. Breathing a sigh that could be of fire, he attempted once more to calm.

 “Why?” A small mutter left the man, a sound containing as much desperate anger as any shout or scream. His eyes stared furiously at the other man, questioning and taunting and testing. None of it worked. Something about Naruto remained…Naruto. In every encounter, in every memory since the two had met, it had always been this way. The whole thing was maddening, and Sasuke almost laughed “What could you possibly gain?”

Naruto walked towards him with that deadlock stare. Sasuke tensed, not daring to move from the stool.

“Trust me,” Naruto firmly said, bringing himself to his knees.

“I could kill you,” His hoarse voice coughed, although it came out less enraged than he had imagined. He sensed the ANBU from afar, their own confusion. What was he-?  

“I could do the same,” And with outstretched arms and a shuddering breath, he embraced the other man.

Naruto breathed openly, unable to contain his emotions. _Please believe me_. He took in the roughness of the white shirt and Sasuke’s distinct smell, and he breathed rather deeply into Sasuke’s hair. How many countless years since he had been embraced as such? Memories of his father and mother, the beginnings of his childhood, flashed before his eyes.

“Trust me,” Naruto repeated, more forcefully, to himself just as much as to Sasuke.

_This was Naruto_. Sasuke then thought to himself. Naruto who had challenged him, infuriated him. Naruto who had befriended him. The suspicion gave way to a brief humming in Sasuke’s heart, followed shortly by the reflex of anger. Who would forgive his long list of sins with such unbelievable ease? _It’s a trick_.

Sasuke backed away off the chair, shoving Naruto to the floor in one swift motion with a swift kick to the ribs. The other man doubled over, eyes watering, and Sasuke strode from the room.

“I don’t trust you,” A cold voice followed.

Naruto rolled over onto his back, surrounded by plastic bags, clothes and trash. He replayed the moment in his head. _What just happened?_

How was he going to do this?

 

~O – O – O – O – O~


	2. Meditation

The first day had almost passed. And so far, no one had died by Sasuke’s hand. Even at this small victory Naruto breathed a sigh of relief.

Since Sasuke had lashed out at him earlier today, Naruto figured it would be best to keep his distance for a while, at least until tomorrow morning. A few hours ago he had grabbed some scrolls he’d borrowed from Sakura the other day, plopped on his bed, and made a big motion of turning towards the open window to study. Sasuke sulked in the kitchen, or at least it seemed like he was sulking. Sulking was kind of a neutral state for Sasuke in Naruto’s opinion.

And that was how most of the afternoon had passed. The birds chirped outside, the sun shining and tempting Naruto like anything, and he even saw Chouji and Shikamaru pass by his window. He wished he could just leap out the window and follow them, but he didn’t know if that was such a good idea with Sasuke around. It became so distracting that he cursed the fact that his apartment had windows, and after awhile Naruto simply couldn’t stand it. Gripping one of the scrolls a little more tightly, he pondered over what to do.

Did Baa-chan say anything about going outside? Meeting with other people? What if he runs away? What if he-

He sighed, putting the thought away, then turned to glance at Sasuke, who hadn’t moved from the stool. He was surprised when he looked closer to find not violent rage, but a look of peace upon the other man’s face. Sasuke sat with the soft breeze from the window blowing at his hair, his legs limp, face without expression. He wasn’t glowering or scowling, but…meditating. It was relaxing, infectious even. Naruto had never recalled seeing Sasuke with this sort of calm about him; from as long as he had known Sasuke, he had always been troubled by something. But for some reason, this made Naruto feel a little better. He won’t run away.

Something had happened while Sasuke had been in solitary confinement, Naruto decided. Or perhaps before that. But this was strange behavior for sure; massive mood swings, kicking Naruto in the ribs and meditating quietly all in the same day. Naruto had a feeling, a small feeling, that Sasuke was battling with himself deep inside. He couldn’t help but grin and feel optimistic, knowing that his friend was alive and kicking.

He watched the other man for awhile, wondering what it must be like. Then he thought to his recent internal battles with Kurama, and how things were so much better now between them. Hmm, I wonder if it’s anything like that. Naruto made a mental note to ask Sasuke when he was back on the planet again. So many questions popped into his head. Naruto was lost in thought until his stomach grumbled, and he decided on tiptoeing over to the kitchen to grab himself a bite to eat. I’d better leave him alone.

“Naruto,” Sasuke spoke suddenly.

The voice sent Naruto clattering to the floor in shock. He let out a special sort of yell reserved only for moments like these.

“SASUKE! Don’t scare me like that!”

His calm meditation face had turned to a classic smirk, that gut-wrenching tone of amusement ringing with every syllable, and he said nothing in reply. Naruto ground his teeth, but kept walking, and called out impatiently behind him.

“Ramen?”

“I can’t cook,” Sasuke gestured to his tied hands “And I can’t eat.”

At this, Naruto flushed with color.

“Well I sure as hell am not feeding you!”

Sasuke kept his face steady, and Naruto turned back to getting hot water for two packages of ramen. Be nice, he’s unstable, he reminded himself. As a nice gesture, he even picked out one of his “special edition” ramens that had taken him several struggles, including a mild wrestling bout with a mother of three (or a mother and three, as he remembered it), to procure. Not that Sasuke would have enough appreciation for the art of ramen to notice.

He poured the water, calming himself with the routine processes of meal making. 

“Why were you meditating?” Naruto asked when the room had gotten quiet but for the soft bubbling of hot water. Sasuke turned on the stool to face him, and Naruto could see the mixed emotions in his eyes. His lips pressed together; it seemed like the harder he tried to speak, the less he spoke.

“I think,” Naruto decided, remembering their exchange after Sasuke had killed Danzō and almost battled Kakashi, that it would probably be a one-way conversation for a little while longer. Just a little longer, he reminded himself, until the old Sasuke returned “You’re in battle. Inside.”

Sasuke’s eyes widened visibly, something that surprised even Naruto, who knew Sasuke to never reveal emotions all too easily.

“You’ve been through a lot, Sasuke.” Naruto looked at the floor, messy and complicated like the world was “I have also been in battle with myself, with Kurama for a long time. It was hard to admit, hard to see that I was in conflict with myself. In the end I am stronger because we work together now. But I had to admit it, don’t you think?”

The room was silent, and Naruto kept smiling like always, and he turned back to the ramen.

“Yes.” After a moment, Sasuke gave a small utterance of an answer, surprising Naruto even more. He had said it with bitterness, even a little bite of rage, but he had admitted it after all. Naruto couldn’t keep the smile off his face, striding up to the other man and just beaming at him.

“You can do it, dattebayo! I knew the real Sasuke was still there all along.” Naruto clenched his fists excitedly, then his tone grew a little more serious as he sighed happily and peered into Sasuke’s inky black gaze “You’re strong, Sasuke. You’ve always been strong.”

Sasuke bit his tongue, feeling like a dog about to be pet for doing some stupid trick. Part of Sasuke wanted to be angry, so very angry at revealing this vulnerability. He wanted to lash out so very badly, kick Naruto again and make him bleed. But he thought back to all he had learned as of recent, from the previous Hokages and their stories. And especially what he’d learned from Itachi. In some ways, everything always went back to Itachi.

“I will be Hokage.” He repeated resolutely, just like the first day he had said it before they marched into battle. When he had said it then, it had shocked everyone. If they weren’t so frightened of his power, they would have probably even laughed at him.

But Naruto didn’t laugh, and he wasn’t shocked like everyone else. Naruto placed a hand on his shoulder, still smiling. And then he turned around to the kitchen to serve the ramen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey everyone, apologies for the slow updates. I hope to pick it up a little bit now that I’m out of a little depressive swing. Thanks for reading and I hope to be updating more frequently :)


	3. Lonely

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thanks for all the awesome reviews! I spend a lot of time on these chapters (hours actually) because I hate hate hate how in fanfiction personalities get super warped, especially in my favorite fandom. Sasuke is the playboy, ridiculously domineering super-seme, and Naruto is the feminine, ridiculously innocent super-uke that is ALWAYS attracting the wrong guy (or all of them). I know as an avid fan for 6+ years that they are NOT one-dimensional characters and I hope to portray them with as much complexity as the manga goes. Thanks for joining me in this journey!

“Dinner is served,” Naruto plopped the cup ramen on the table, taking a seat next to the other man. He felt quite proud of himself in that moment, providing for another person’s needs. Now that he thought about it, he had never really done much of that before. This apartment had always been so very empty.

“Too early for dinner,” Sasuke gestured with his head to the window, where the afternoon sun had just begin to fade. Then he smirked, shifting his arms which were still cuffed “And I can’t eat.”

Naruto grimaced, hoping Sasuke would have somehow come up with some way to manage by now. He _was_ a ninja after all.

“Well,” Naruto started, unable to stop the slight blush on his face. Had he no dignity left?!

“Well…” Sasuke echoed, turning to him, face turning to stone “You are indebted from _my_ preventing _your_ hunger. From _that day_.”

And Naruto instantly remembered the moment, the day Kakashi had given them their first challenge as ninja. He remembered as if it had been that very afternoon. The bells…

 “That wasn’t you.” Naruto mumbled, remembering the innocence of those days. He turned away and grabbed the ramen and wooden chopsticks, breaking them apart hastily “It was Sakura that fed me.”

“It was my idea.” Sasuke said “You would’ve been a burden to us all, stomach grumbling like an idiot.”

“It’s funny,” Naruto scooped up some ramen, talking almost to himself “That day, I was the one who was imprisoned…”

_And now…_

He couldn’t finish the sentence, instead raising the chopsticks with a bite full of noodles and receiving a look of barely concealed rage. It wasn’t as if Sasuke hadn’t heard about it enough. His future in this village was an unknown, and his only chance at living for the immediate future due to the defense from Naruto himself. Naruto bit his lip, feeling suddenly struck by how often he had seen such secret sadness in the other man’s eyes in all his years of knowing him. Even now it continued, with everything…settled? The word didn’t seem to fit with this state Sasuke was in now. What was he now? Rescued? Safe? _Back to normal?_

He stared into the man’s eyes, recalling the day Sasuke was brought back to Konoha in shame. The war had just ended and the streets were lined with celebrating villagers. The rebuilding was well on its way to completion, and everyone’s spirits had also been very nearly repaired. Upon entering the village gates from near the back of the company, Naruto’s heart filled with lightness, seeing similar looks of fondness from his comrades. _Home_.

But Naruto felt a tenseness in the air as Sasuke was brought into the village, flanked by two guards at his sides. He limped along with his tattered bloody clothes, occasionally so exhausted that he collapsed entirely, dragged like a hunted animal. His eyes were bloody from using genjutsu, his body covered with cuts and bruises. The festivities quieted as their hearts filled with rage, glaring daggers at the traitor.

It wasn’t long before a particularly upset man threw a rotting fruit at Sasuke, landing it squarely between his shoulders on the already bloodstained Uchiha symbol. A few more bold men followed, yelling as if generations of blood had been spilled by the hand of Sasuke alone. Some small children joined in, yelling angrily and throwing sticks.

And soon the entire crowd was roaring, knowing the battle-worn youth was captured, and too weak to defend himself. But what really enraged Naruto in that moment was that Sasuke hadn’t reacted. It was as if he was already dead, the empty eyes of a mask staring into the abyss. From far away Naruto watched as twigs scratched at his already bruised arms, the slippery fruit melting off him like lava. Tears filled in his eyes as he witnessed the cruelty.

Naruto remembered yelling out, being restrained by Sakura and Shikamaru momentarily, continuing to make himself heard. His eyes blazed, vision blurred, as he ran ahead from the back to where Sasuke was.

“STOP!” Naruto sprinted to the front and stood his ground in front of the Uchiha, who was breathing heavily but otherwise impassive. The guards stopped abruptly, and Sasuke’s head rose a little if only in reflex. Naruto was also covered in grime from the recent end of the war, tired and scraped up like the rest, but continued to stand solidly until the whole company had stopped and the crowd quieted.

Sasuke looked around, unable to hide his surprise that Naruto had acquired this sort of power over the masses.

“We cannot treat him like this.” Naruto spoke to the crowd, who seemed suddenly conflicted by their actions. He spoke not with anger, but with pure confidence and faith in his words “Sasuke is a hero. Everyone who fought today knows that, that he sacrificed his life for us all. From the actions of Sasuke, of everyone here, we have secured peace.”

The crowd was silent, soaking in the guilt the words had stung them with. The man who had thrown the rotten fruit looked particularly ashamed, and Tsunade came up beside Naruto to simply nod at him before declaring:

“We have won. Let us continue this peace, and let no more blood be shed in vain. I thank you all!”

The crowd rejoiced, and Naruto turned to smile at Sasuke, but found the man still emotionless and stoic as usual. His bloodied eyes emptied of what little emotion they had just carried, he began to walk forward again. Naruto looked confused, jogging up to him.

“Leave it, Naruto.” His voice was torn and tired “I deserve all their rage. Let them unleash it upon me.”

“Sasuke,” Naruto turned to him, edging around the left guard “You don’t deserve-”

“Stop defending me.” The man’s rage bubbled up to the surface, and the guards grew uneasy “I don’t _deserve_ anything.”

“Sasuke,” Naruto remained patient as the man walked past him, his heart as torn from the man’s words as his own clothes were torn. He faintly remembered what Gaara had told him, back in the snow when things seemed so very different “I have to do what’s right, as your friend.”

He kept walking, possibly ignoring him. Then he turned slightly, enough for Naruto to see a sliver of his face.

“I defend my friends with my life, Sasuke. Don’t forget.”

Naruto blinked, returning to the reality where he was holding a pair of ramen-laden chopsticks in front of Sasuke’s face. He realized his eyes were a little wet, and Sasuke’s unreadable.

“Sorry,” His hand was shaking, and he had dripped ramen on the table “I just…remembered.”

Sasuke stared at him, sitting on the stool like the immobile boulder he had been all afternoon. But he stared.

“The day the war ended.” Naruto laughed a little, feeling the lightness that confession brought. He took a spare towel and wiped down the table, then grabbed another bite with the chopsticks and brought them to Sasuke’s unmoving lips “But all that aside, itadakimasu.”

How Sasuke managed to tilt forward just enough to take the first bite was beyond Naruto. His eyes were anywhere but on Naruto, with the intensity of genjutsu. In all honesty, Naruto had never seen a more dignified illustration of being fed ramen, but in any case this was the first.

They finished up and Sasuke stayed silent as Naruto gorged himself. The sun was setting, and Sasuke left to choose a seat by the bedroom window which was consequently on Naruto’s bed. Naruto watched him go and didn’t mind; he was in such a good mood that he decided against the usual banter.

Humming to himself, he didn’t even mind the tidying up. Yes, things were going to be all right! Suddenly, it hit him. He had never lived with another human being, never in his life, in any sort of permanent way. The excitement of having another person, even Sasuke, as a constant presence to stave off all this bitter loneliness –

“Oi, Sasuke-” He didn’t want to waste a moment, running to the bedroom. Sasuke had been so alone too, for so many years…

He ran in, but stopped suddenly. The room was empty.

Eyes widening, he darted to the window and saw Sasuke walking calmly up the side of the building using the chakra in his feet. Even with arms bound, he retained composure.

“Sasuke!”

But he had already disappeared from view.

_Crap!_ Naruto followed after him, scaling the wall in no time. He panted, panicking as he briefly registered the apprehension of the ANBU. _Please, don’t do anything to him._

But Sasuke was seated on the roof, hair fluttering in the wind watching the sun set, and Naruto sighed.

“Baka…” He muttered, still jittery, taking a seat next to the other man “What are you **_doing_**? The ANBU are-”

“The sunset.” He said, as if that explained everything. Naruto paused, almost annoyed because his tone said nothing, and then realized that Sasuke had probably not seen daylight for many days. Let alone a sunset.

The simplicity of the moment made Naruto’s heart fill with joy. Sasuke had been alone too. So maybe, just maybe, he wanted something more from the world. He was still inside, fighting for a better life. He smiled brightly, feeling that this would not be as hard as it seemed at first.

And he didn’t just mean the feeding part.

**Author's Note:**

> Leave me reviews and I'll leave some for you!


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